Puzzle Pieces
by Martini
Summary: After running from an old life style, Aurelia Parker finaly finds friends, a true love, and most importantly, a real home. Please R and R! I would really love some feedback!


Author's Note: I've been told that I write too much like the 21st century way of speaking rather than how the newsies spoke, so beware!!! Please Review after you're finished reading!!! I'd love some feedback!

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The sky was dark and the winds were gusting as Aurelia Parker walked calmly down the street, humming a tune as she went. Aurelia was used to this weather and wasn't afraid of it one bit.  She was sixteen and was used to living outside. She was streetwise and could hold her own against anyone who dared to challenge her. Still humming, she went over to a man who was walking past her. 

"Buy me last pape, mista?" she inquired innocently, only to receive a dirty look in return.

"I'll take that as a no," she replied and continued on her way.

"I had better hurry up and finish selling," she thought to herself. "I still need to find a place to sleep tonight." 

She quickened her pace and carefully scanned the streets, looking for someone to buy her last pape. 

"Buy me last pape, lady?" she asked an older woman who was standing a few feet away from her.

"Why certainly," she replied.

Aurelia traded her pape for the penny and quickly thanked the woman.

"Now, to find a place to sleep..." she said to herself.

She spotted an alleyway that was partially hidden in shadows. 

"Perfect. No one will be stupid enough to come into a dark alley, especially at night."

She crossed the road and peered cautiously into the alley. 

"Looks pretty good," she said to herself.

 She glanced around her surroundings and found a huge pile of boxes, perfect for sleeping under. She started digging through them, anxious to set up her tent for the night. After 5 solid minutes of work, she had finally constructed a makeshift tent, perfect to suit her needs. 

"I need a break!" she declared.

She sat down inside her tent and started to make herself comfortable. Suddenly, something caught her eye.

"What the hell..." She muttered.

She pushed away some of the cardboard that wasn't being used to hold her tent up and then screamed. 

"Holy shit!"

Lying amongst the cardboard was the body of teenage guy. He looked to have been the subject of a brutal beating. 

"Stay calm, stay calm," she told herself. "First, check to see if he's breathing."

She scrunched herself down beside him and saw that his chest was rising and falling methodically. 

"Okay...now what?" she asked herself.

Suddenly, the boy stirred and grabbed hold of her hand. Aurelia looked over at his face and realized that a patch covered one of his eyes. 

"I wonder how that happened?" she thought to herself. 

"Help...me," he rasped, startling Aurelia out of her trance.

"How?" she asked.

"Lodging house. Get me there," he whispered.

And with that, Aurelia carefully picked him up and began staggering under his weight. 

"Oh God. Please don't let me drop him," she whispered into the night. 

Luckily for her, the lodging house wasn't very far away. She staggered to the top of the stairs, put him down as gently as she could and then ran inside.

"Help!!! Oh God help me!!!!" she screamed. 

"What is it?" 

She turned around and saw a group of teenagers playing cards.

"There's a guy outside. He's been beaten pretty badly. He told me to get him here." 

Quickly, a bunch of guys ran outside. Aurelia followed.

"Shit, they got Blink," said one of the guys.

Quickly, the teenagers lifted Blink up and carried him inside. Aurelia hurried alongside them.

"Can I do anything?" she asked. "Get a doctor or something?"

"No, we've already called one," said a boy wearing a cowboy hat. 

"The best thing you can do is wait here with everyone else," said another and then disappeared up the stairs.

"Okay. I can do that," she told herself.

Aurelia turned in a complete circle, surveying her surroundings. A group of kids were playing marbles off to the side of the room. They seemed friendly and inviting, but Aurelia knew she couldn't join them. 

"I want to find something out about Blink." 

Her eyes continued roaming until they fell upon a group of rowdy teenagers sitting around in a circle.

"They might be able to answer my questions," she told herself.

Aurelia stood motionless for a moment, gathering up her courage. She then placed one foot in front of the other and boldly marched across the room. She reached the nearest teenager and said shyly, "Hi." The boy turned to look at her and said nothing.  

"What's wrong with these people?" Aurelia thought frantically. "Can't they open their mouths and say something back??"

A voice suddenly broke through her thoughts. 

"You'll have to excuse Mush. He seems to loose his manners in the company of pretty goils." said a short Italian guy who looked to be 17 and had a cigar playfully hanging from the corner of his mouth. The group laughed and Aurelia found herself blushing. 

"Don't embarrass her, Race! And you're the one talking about other people loosing their manners!" spoke up a short, brown haired girl. "She's gone through enough already today without your wisecracks!!" The girl jumped abruptly to her feet and stormed off from the group, dragging Aurelia behind her. They climbed the staircase until finally they were on the roof. The girl turned to Aurelia and spoke. "You'll have to excuse Race. Sometimes he says the wrong thing at the wrong time."

"That's okay." Aurelia replied.

They sat there in silence, staring off into the sky at the approaching rain clouds for a moment.

"My name's Jessica, but I'd prefer it if you'd call me Bookie like everyone else," the girl said. 

"My name's Aurelia."

They continued sitting in silence until Bookie spoke up again.

"Do you mind me asking what your story is?"

Aurelia turned so she was facing Bookie. Tears that had not been shed in 2 years suddenly tried to break free, surprising Aurelia. She fought to keep them under control as she replied, "I don't think I'm ready to talk about it yet." 

"That's okay," quickly interjected Bookie, seeing the tears. "We can talk all about me!" she joked. 

"Well," she continued. "When I was 14, I ran away from the orphanage that I had been living in since I was a baby. I was treated like a slave there and I wanted, no, I needed a better life. Racetrack, you know, the annoying guy that you met downstairs? Well, he found me roaming the streets and took me back here and I've been living here ever since. And that's about it."

"Why were you living in an orphanage?" asked Aurelia.

Bookie was silent for a moment. "My guess is as good as yours. Maybe my parents died. Maybe they couldn't look after me. Maybe they didn't want me. I never found out the actual answer," she replied softly.

"I'm so sorry, Bookie. I didn't realize that that question would bring up so much pain for you," Aurelia said.

"Don't worry about it." They continued staring up at the sky. 

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you about one of the best parts of my life!" said Bookie. "Ever since Race found me 2 years ago, I had the biggest crush on him. We were best friends, and still are, but that wasn't enough for me. I began getting distant because I was afraid of what Race would say if I ever told him and because I was so hopeless around him! Stuttering whenever he spoke to me, tripping over my own two feet when he was around. Anyways, one day he took me aside and told me that he had had a crush on me ever since the day we met but he didn't want to say anything because it might ruin out friendship. It was history after that. We've been going together ever since."

"That's great! I wish I had someone like that..." said Aurelia, gazing up at the sky in thought.

"Maybe you will! If you stick around here long enough, you're bound to get attached to someone!" said Bookie with a smile.

"Ha! You just wait and see!" laughed Aurelia.

"So how did you get your name?" Aurelia asked as soon as she had stopped laughing.

"Could you believe that Race actually named me? Race would go to the tracks all the time and I would always advise him on the horse to bet on. He started calling me his bookie and the name stuck."

Aurelia smiled when she heard this. "That so cute," she said to herself.

"Speaking of nicknames," Bookie interjected. "You need one!"

"I do?" asked Aurelia in puzzlement.

"If you want to stay here, you do," replied Bookie. "Every newsie has a nickname. It's part of the job description."

"Newsie???" Aurelia asked in surprise. "You're a newsie?"

"Yes," cautiously answered Bookie, waiting for what Aurelia would say next. She prepared herself for the worst, knowing that a lot of people disliked newsies and weren't afraid of showing it.

"That's so great!!!" exclaimed Aurelia.

"What??" asked Bookie.

"Well it seems that I'll fit in here more than I thought!"

"Okay, now I'm confused," Bookie replied.

"I'm a newsie too!"

"You are?"

"Yup! Have been one since before I can remember."

"That's wonderful!" exclaimed Bookie. "Now you'll definitely have to stay!"

"I guess I will," replied Aurelia softly.

Rain clouds that had begun advancing earlier were now upon the girls.

"Shit. It's gonna start raining soon," said Bookie, looking up at the sky. Aurelia followed her gaze and saw that she was right. "I guess that's my cue to take you inside and introduce you to everyone since you'll be staying and all."

"I guess it is."

"But before we go, you need a nickname!"

The girls sat in thought for a few minutes before Bookie shouted, "I've got it!"

"What?" asked Aurelia.

"How about Dazzle?"

"Umm… no."

"Emerald?"

"No."

"Wander?"

"No."

"Martini?"

Aurelia was silent for a moment. "It has potential. I like it!"

"Martini it is!"

They continued sitting side-by-side, completely lost in their own thoughts until the first droplets of rain descended upon them. Bookie turned to Martini.

"I'm going inside. You coming?"

"Yeah. I'll be there in second."

Bookie quickly dashed inside, leaving Martini all alone.

"What a day this turned out to be!" she thought.

The rain began to get harder and stung Martini's bare arms.

"I'd better get inside," she thought and then dashed across the roof after Bookie. 

Once inside, Aurelia found herself gazing at a group of 20 some odd people all sitting around in the bunkroom. Bookie spotted Martini and walked over to her, carrying a bundle of clothes under one arm.

"Don't worry," Bookie said, spotting the look of insecurity on Martini's face. "You'll be fine. But before I introduce you, here's a pair of dry clothes you might want to change into."

Martini returned a small smile. "Thanks. Could you show me where to change?"

"Follow me!" 

The girls crossed the bunkroom and soon they were inside the much quieter bathroom. 

"Bookie…" Martini started. "I should probably mention something to you before you leave."

"What is it??"

"Well…see, the thing is…I'm not very good around lots of people. I've always been on my own and being around this many people makes me a little…nervous."

 "Ohhh," Bookie said with an understanding smile. "Don't worry too much about it. You have no reason to be nervous. You already met Race, and I'll be right there with you."

Martini was silent for a moment before replying, "Okay."

Bookie turned and walked back to the bunkroom. Martini quickly changed clothes and glanced in the mirror. Her short brown hair was wet with rain and plastered to her head. 

"Uhh." Martini muttered to herself. She tried fluffing her hair so it didn't look so bad, but nothing seemed to work. "Oh well. Can't get any worse than this!" She walked swiftly back to the bunkroom. Bookie was waiting for her at the door.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked.

Martini gave her a small smile. "The best I can be!"

The two walked through the crowded and noisy bunkroom over to a small group of guys playing cards.

"Hey everyone!" Bookie shouted. No one acknowledged her. "Hello!!!" she shouted again and got no answer. "Racetrack!!!!" For a third time she got no answer.  She turned to Martini and mouthed the words "Watch this!" She walked around the group until she was standing directly behind Race. She put two fingers in her mouth and gave a high pitch whistle.  Race was so startled that he threw his cards up in the air and fell off his chair. The room quieted and all eyes turned on Race and Bookie. Race was still for a moment before exploding.   
"Bookie!!!" he yelled. "Why did you have to go and do that?!?!? I can think of quite a few more…" he paused in mid-sentence, searching for the right word. "Pleasant…ways of getting my attention."

"I'm sorry, Pookie," Bookie said, trying to hide a smile.  A snort of laughter could be heard from someone in the room. She ignored it and continued. "Did you hurt your head when you fell?"

"Maybe I did," he retorted, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout.

"How about I make it better?"

She walked over to Race and sat down next to him on the floor. She then proceeded to give him a kiss, smack on the lips.

"Uhhh," said a guy sitting in front of Martini.

The boy wearing the cowboy hat suddenly stood up and called out "Shows over folks!! Go back to what you were doing! Nothing to see here!"

The boys at the table began collecting the cards that Race had thrown and started the game again. Race and Bookie got up off the floor and rejoined the group. 

"Hey everyone! Listen up!" said Bookie. "Now that I have your attention, I'd like to introduce my new friend Martini." 

Everyone turned and looked at Martini. She gave a wave and a small smile. 

"Martini, these are my friends." She began pointing at people at the table and naming them as she went along. 

"That's Jack." The guy wearing the cowboy hat gave a nod in recognition of his name. 

"That's Dutchy." A blond haired guy gave Martini a smile.

"You know Race, and here's Mush," she said pointing to a guy with curly hair.

"And lastly, this is Skittery," she said pointing to a guy who had pink long johns sticking out from underneath his clothes. The boys then went back to their game and Bookie turned to Martini.

"See. That wasn't so bad."

"I guess you're right." 

"I'll show you your bunk now."

The girls walked back across the room. Bookie sat down on a bottom bunk and motioned for Martini to join her. 

"This is my bunk. Your bunk is right here," she said, motioning to bunk directly above them. "Race's bunk is next to mine on the bottom, and Blink's is next to yours on the top."

"Speaking of Blink, where is he?" asked Martini.

"He's in the sickroom, next door."

A comfortable silence overcame the girls. Soon, Bookie got up to leave. But before she could, Martini quietly thanked her for all she had done.

"It's no problem, really," she replied. "I remember my first day here was overwhelming, and that I was glad to have a friend like Race with me."

She gave Martini a smile, and then left.  

Martini sat in silence for a few minutes after Bookie had gone. 

"What should I do now?" she asked herself.

Suddenly she had an idea. "I'll explore the rest of the house!"

She rose to her feet and quickly left the bunkroom. She hadn't gone very far until she had reached a room that had it's door shut.

"I'll just go in here for a second and then go straight back to the bunkroom," she whispered to herself. She slowly opened the door to the room and stepped inside. The room was pitch black and Martini had trouble making out what everything was. She squinted her eyes and could vaguely make out the shape of a few bunk beds. 

"Are you coming in or staying out?" a voice called out, scaring Martini. "Please make up your mind. The light from the hall is hurting my head." 

"I'll come in," she replied. She stepped farther into the room and closed the door. Martini then tried to remember what direction the voice came from.

"I'm over by the window," the voice called out, as if reading Martini's mind.

"Is this such a good idea?" Martini thought to herself as she walked across the room. 

As soon as she got closer to the window, she could make out the form of a body lying on a bottom bunk. She went over and sat down in a chair that stood next to the bed.

"Hi," the voice said. 

"Hi," cautiously replied Martini.

"I believe we've already met."

"We have?"

"Well, not formally." The voice gave a short laugh and then continued. "Let me properly introduce myself. I'm Blink."  
Martini leaned forward in her chair so she could have a better view of his face and then realized that he was the guy she had brought back here.

"I'm Martini."

"Earlier I didn't have a chance to thank you for bringing me back here. So, I'll say it now. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm sure you would have done the same for me."

Martini sat back in her chair and tried to think of something else to say, but Blink beat her to the punch.

"Did you meet everyone?" he inquired.

"Yes. Bookie introduced me right after she and Race put on a show."

"Those two," he said with a chuckle. "We don't know what to do with them."

Martini laughed. 

"I've decided to stay here and sell papes with you guys."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yeah," said Martini with a sigh. "I finally found a place that feels like home more than any other!" 

"What do you mean?"

"You name a place, I've probably been there. I'm not used to staying in one place."

"Well, I hope you'll change your mind about moving around. It'll be kinda nice to have another goil living in the lodging house. I'm sure Bookie will love the company!"

"How are you feeling?" asked Martini.

"The best anyone could feel after being soaked. Talking with you has made me feel a lot better."

"I'm glad I helped then."

A knock suddenly came at the door. Bookie poked her head in the room. 

"Hey Blink," she started. "This may seem like a weird question, but have you seen Martini?"

"I'm right here," Martini called out.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you. For a moment there, I thought you had changed your mind about staying here, and had left!" said Bookie.

"I don't think I wanna leave here. Well, at least not for a while anyway. Everybody's been so nice to me!" replied Martini. 

"Me and Race were wondering if you wanted to play poker."

"I'd love to. But there's one little problem. See, I don't know how to play."

"You don't know how to play poker?" Blink asked in shock.

"That's okay," Bookie interjected. "We can teach you! It's been awhile since we've had to teach anybody. Not since Katrina…." Her voice trailed off as if she was reminiscing moments from the past. Suddenly she returned to the present and realized what she had said. "Oh God! I'm so sorry Blink! I forgot that we're not supposed to mention her!"

The room was silent as Martini waited for what was next to come.

"It's…it's all right," Blink replied softly.

"Blink, so sorry but we're gonna have to leave now," Bookie said. "Martini? Coming?"

Martini looked back at Blink. "Nice to finally meet you. Maybe we could talk again sometime?"

"Sure", Blink replied. "That would be nice."

"Great!" Martini said a little too excitedly. "Okay, bye Blink!"

She and Bookie turned and walked out of the room. Bookie closed the door and the two walked a good distance down the hall before Bookie stopped and leaned against the wall. 

"What was that all about?" asked Martini. "And who's Katrina?"

"Katrina was Blink's old girlfriend. A few weeks ago she broke Blink's heart. Blink's still trying to get over it. And there I go, sticking my foot in my mouth once again!"

"How did they break up?"

Bookie looked Martini in the eyes. "You really want to know?"

"Yes."

Bookie was silent for a moment. "It all started about six months ago. Blink and Katrina started going out and everything was great. I had never seen Blink quite so happy. So anyways, this was about three weeks ago when Blink decided to tell her that he loved her. So Blink goes all the way to Brooklyn where she lives, and what does he see? Katrina and some guy making out right in her apartment. There was a lot of screaming and shouting and she told him that she had been only using him to get to the other guy. Blink came back here, and he's been moping around ever since."

"Poor guy," commented Martini.

"And that's not all," Bookie continued.

"It isn't?"

"Not in the slightest! Because Blink's been so depressed, he hasn't been able to focus very well. That's why he was so easy to soak."

"Why would someone wanna soak Blink?"

"That's another story all together! Manhattan's in a war with Queens. Don't quite understand why though. You sure picked a hell of a time to become a newsie here!"

"Did I ever!" Martini muttered to herself.

The two girls continued walking down the hall and rejoined the guys in the bunkroom. Bookie quickly spotted Race and Mush. Race glanced up in their direction and broke out into a smile. He beckoned for them to join him.  The girls hurried over and sat themselves down. Race dealt out the cards. 

"Now how do I do this?" questioned Martini.

For the next half hour, Race, Bookie and Mush tried their best at teaching Martini the concepts of poker. She finally thought she had gotten the hang of it when Kloppman came upstairs and told everyone it was lights out. The boys protested as usual but Kloppman insisted. 

"I know what you guys are like in the morning," said Kloppman. "You need all the sleep you can get."

Everyone got ready for bed and began settling in for the night. Martini hoisted herself up onto her bunk, lied down, and closed her eyes. 

"This has got to be one of the best days ever!" she thought to herself before slowly drifting off into a deep sleep.

Martini awoke to the sounds of grumbling and complaining the next morning. As usual, no one seemed to want to get up.  To Martini, this was the greatest sound she had ever heard. She rolled out of bed, forgetting where she was, and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

Bookie peered over the top of her covers and looked at Martini who was lying next to her on the floor. 

"Now why did you have to do that!! I was just about to fall back asleep and you woke me back up!!"

Martini looked at her, still in a daze. Fortunately, Race was just getting up out of his bunk next to Bookie's and came over. 

"Bookie," he called softly as he walked over and sat down on her bunk.

"Bookie! It's time to get up!" he said cheerfully.

"No! I wanna sleep!!" came the muffled reply.

He gave a small sigh. "I didn't want to have to do this!" He got up and pulled the covers off her and then pulled her mattress out off the bed frame. Bookie tumbled to the floor as Race called out "Rise and shine, sleepyhead!"

Martini could see Bookie's crumpled form from where she was lying. Her eyes slowly opened and her face suddenly had a look of recognition of what had just happened. "Racetrack!!!" she yelled, and jumped to her feet.

"I couldn't let you get away with what happened yesterday!"

"Why, you little…" she began, but was cut off when Race suddenly charged at her, forcing her to run around the bunkroom. Race quickly caught her and carried her into the bathroom. Her screams of laugher could be heard echoing throughout the room. Martini shook her head. She had been here less than a day and already she had the impression that when those two were together, it meant trouble. She pulled herself off the floor, grabbed her clean clothes (conveniently washed from the rain) and headed off into the bathroom. Many newsies were already there getting ready for the day. She found an open stall and quickly changed. 

"Martini!" Bookie called. "Where are you?"

"Right here, "Martini replied, steeping out of the stall.

Bookie walked over to her. "Wanna sell with me?"

"Sure!" 

The girls finished up in the bathroom and headed downstairs. 

Race spotted them and came over. "You two selling together?"

"Yup!"

"Can me and Mush come along for the ride? We could make a day of it!"

Bookie looked over at Martini. "It's okay with me if it's okay with you.

Martini nodded her head in agreement. "Good. Then that's settled."

They continued onto the distribution office, pausing only to receive some bread from the nuns. The four spent the whole day together, a day that Martini would later recall as one of the best she had ever had. The next few days quickly flew by as Martini began settling into the life of the newsies. One day after a long hard day of work, Martini went up to the roof. She felt like she just needed to get away from everyone and everything. Leaning against the cool, brick wall she closed her eyes, letting the last dying rays from the sun warm her face. As she sat there, she began thinking about the last few days and how much her life had changed. Suddenly, she heard a noise from beside her. She opened her eyes and realized that someone was standing next to her.

"May I sit down?"

"Sure," she replied.

The figure plopped down beside her and began staring off into the horizon at the miraculous sunset that unfurled in front of them. 

"I thought I'd find you up here."

The two were silent for a moment. 

"I'm sorry I didn't come and see you sooner, Blink."

"It's okay. It gave me a lot of time to think about things that have been going on in my life."

"That's good. How are you feeling?"

"Actually, I feel great," he replied. "How have you been settling in?"

"Good. Bookie has been a great friend. And I've been selling with her, Race and Mush every day."

"Speaking of selling, wanna sell with me tomorrow?"

Martini could hear her heart suddenly speed up and wondered if Blink could too. 

"I'd…I'd love to. You sure you're up to selling?" she asked, praying that he'd say he was fine with it.

"I'm sure."

Martini gave a sigh of relief. 

"Well, I'm gonna go inside. Race has asked me to play some poker." He stood up and began to leave.

"Blink!" Martini called out.

"Yeah?" 

"What's happening with Queens?" she asked, knowing that this may be the only chance she had to find out the answer. "Why is Manhattan in a war with them?"

"You wanna know about that?"

"Yep."

He quickly walked back over and sat down.

"It all started a few weeks ago. Some of Queen's newsies tried selling in Manhattan so Jack had a…a talking to them. Things just escalated from there."

"Oh. That makes sense. Thanks for telling me."

"You're welcome. So we're still on for tomorrow?"

"Yep."

"Great!" he replied and quickly left the roof, passing Bookie on his way down. 

"Hey girl!"

Martini looked up and saw Bookie. She broke out in a smile and replied "Hi."

"What was that with Blink?"

"Nothing. 

"Come on. You can tell me. I'm your friend!" she pleaded. "Is it something to do with Blink? Do you have a crush on him?"

Martini blushed and looked away.

"You do!! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone…unless you want me to?"

"No!" Martini cried. "Please don't!" 

"Ahh, don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks Bookie. I don't know what I'd do if he ever found out!"

"You never know, Martini. The same thing sort of happened with me and look at me now!"

"Yeah, I know. But I'd rather just wait and tell him later. He's still getting over Katrina."

Bookie nodded her head in agreement. Suddenly a loud commotion could he heard from downstairs.

"What the…" Bookie muttered. The two girls got up and left the roof. Once inside, Bookie found Race and asked him what was going on. He had an anxious look on his face and answered "It's Mush."

"Oh God," whispered Bookie.

"Queens?" asked Martini.

He nodded and then hurried off to help his friend.

"Something's got to be done," Martini said.

"I know. I don't want to see anyone else get hurt."

"So do you wanna do something about it?"

Bookie glanced at Martini. "You're serious?"

"Yep."

She thought for a moment. "Okay. Let's do it."

"Good. We'll go to Queens tomorrow and end this once and for all."

Before Martini could do anything else, Blink came up her and said he was sorry but he couldn't sell with her tomorrow because he was going to stay at the lodging house with Mush. She quickly changed into their pajamas along with everyone else and drifted off into a restless sleep, dreaming about what tomorrow would bring.

"You sure you want to do this?" asked Martini. She and Bookie had gotten up early and had left the lodging house before anyone else was awake. They had been walking for a little over 20 minutes.

"We can turn back now if you want."

"No. I wanna do this."

They continued walking in silence until they reached the Queens lodging house. They climbed the steps and entered. A bunch of guys were sitting around in a crude circle smoking cigarettes. They glanced up and gave the girls a once over. 

"What are two pretty dames like you doing in a place like this?" a greasy haired guy spoke up. 

"We're looking for Clef O'Reilly." Blank stares consumed the boy's faces. "You know, your leader?" said Bookie, aspirated. 

"What do you want with him?"

"That's personal. So, you gonna tell us where he is the easy way or the hard way?" replied Martini. 

An eerie grin suddenly crept onto one of the guy's face.

"We'll take you to him. Follow me."

He got up from his chair and snapped his fingers. The others rose in one fluid motion and followed the guy outside. The girls followed quickly behind them.  Street signs became a blur to Martini as the group walked for many minutes. Finally they came to a stop. 

"If you'd follow me," a guy said to Martini and Bookie. 

"Follow you where?"

"Just in here," he said, waving his hand in the direction of an alley. 

"You've got to be crazy!! I'm not going in there!" exclaimed Bookie.

"Actually, you are," he said. He nodded to the guys behind Bookie and Martini. They girls were forced into the alleyway. 

"Hel…!" Martini tried to scream, but was cut off by a sudden blow to the stomach. She crumpled to the ground. 

"It's about time we had a little fun."

The group surrounded Bookie and Martini and attacked. The girls tried their best to fight them off, but there were only two of them, and it seemed like a million of them. Martini and Bookie took down a few, but in the process, they got knocked around themselves.  Finally after a few agonizing minutes, the guys got tired of soaking the girls and left. 

"Bookie," Martini whispered. "Bookie, are you all right?"

A groan came from the other side of the alley. "I think so. I bet I'm gonna have a hell of a shiner and won't be able to move for a very long time. You?"

"I think my arm's broken and I've got a few nasty bruises."

"Can you walk?"

"I think so."

The girls struggled to their feet, but collapsed moments after.

"I don't think that was such a good idea."

"I agree."

They lay there, both suffering in pain, waiting for someone to come by and help them.

After awhile, the girls gave up.

"In a few hours it'll be dark. Race will know something's wrong. He'll come find us."

"But how will he know where we are?" asked Martini.

A long silence came between the girls. "I'm so sorry Bookie. I got you into this. If it wasn't for me, you'd be off at the track with Race or something."

"It's okay, seriously. It's not your fault."

"Friends?"

"Forever."

After a few minutes, Martini spoke up again. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Martini paused for a moment.

"That! It sounds like someone whistling."

The girls listened hard.

"I hear it too!! Let's wait until it gets closer and then we can call out for help."

"Okay."

The whistling became louder and louder as the person neared the alley where the girls lay.

"Hello!! Could you help us?" yelled out Bookie.  

The whistling stopped and a gruff voice called out "Hello?"

"In here!!" the girls cried out together.

The figure walked all the way to the back of the alley where the girls were. The girls could see that he was about 17 and was a newsie, as he carried a pile of newspapers under one arm. He scrunched his face up and gave Bookie a puzzled look. 

"Don't I know you?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

He paused in thought for a moment.

"You're Bookie, Racetrack's girl!!" he exclaimed. 

He moved closer to get a better look at her. A flash of light bounced off something and blinded the girls for a second. Bookie peered at what the shinny object was and realized that it was a gold-topped cane.

"You're Spot Conlon!!!"

"So, you've heard of me!" he said, pleased.

"Guys? A little help here?" asked Martini.

"Sorry." Bookie turned to Spot and said, "This is the newest edition to the Manhattan newsies, Martini."

"Nice to meetcha!" he said with a smirk.

"I'd smile back attacha but I'm in a little PAIN here!!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, right! Sorry," he replied. "Now what happened?"

"Martini and I came over here to talk to Clef O'Reilly and got jumped. I'm not badly hurt but Martini thinks she has a broken arm."

"Think? I know! I'm not going through all this pain just because I think I broke my arm!"

"Okay, Okay! Settle down. I'll get you back to Manhattan in a flash."

He placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled. A boy suddenly came out of nowhere.

"Hey Pitcher, I need you to run over to Manhattan and tell them that Bookie and Martini had a little problem in Queens but are on they're way home. Oh! And call for a doctor." The boy gave a nod and took off running.

"Was that one of your birds?"

Spot gave Bookie a scowl. 

"Wouldn't you like to know!" He gave Bookie a hand and pulled her to her feet. "Okay girls. Lets get this show on the road!" 

With Spot and Bookie's help, Martini walked slowly back to the lodging house. Race and Blink were there waiting for them on the steps. Race took one look at Bookie and demanded who had done this to her.

"Queens," she replied.

"Those bums! I'll soak them!"

Bookie quickly thanked Spot for all he had done and dragged Race inside. Blink turned to Martini.

"We'd better get you inside. I'm guessing you're the one who need the doctor?"

Martini gave him a smile as best she could. He quickly whisked her inside to the sickroom where the doctor was waiting. 

"What seems to be the problem?" the kind doctor asked.

"It my arm. It's broken."

"Let me take a look." He ripped what remained of her sleeve off and gently touched the area. Martini winced. 

"You're right." He turned to Blink. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave now." 

"No!" Martini cried, grabbing Blink's hand with her good arm.

"You sure?" the doctor asked.

She nodded. 

"Okay then. Lets get down to business." He began rummaging around in his bag for something. "Aha!" he cried, pulling out a tattered and worn book. "I'm going to have to set your arm. It's going to hurt so I want you to bite down on this book."

"Okay." 

He placed the book between her lips and moved beside her arm. 

"Ready?"

Martini nodded, making sure she was still holding Blink's hand.

"On the count of three. One…tw…" the doctor counted.

"Ahhhhh!" screamed Martini. The doctor had set her arm her arm on two. Tears streamed down her face. Blink reached over and carefully wiped  the tears away.

"That wasn't so bad, was it? Don't worry. It's all over now."

He whispered gentle words into her ear and tried to get her mind off her arm. After explaining all the instructions to Blink, the doctor left. Blink turned to leave. "I'll send in Bookie."

"No! I want you to stay." 

"You sure?" he asked, looking her in the eyes.

She nodded. He pulled over a nearby chair and sat down. 

"Now the doctor told me to give you this medication to help you sleep. I'm gonna give you some now."

Martini agreed. "It feels like my arm has been ripped off and sewn back on again."

Blink gave her the medication and resumed holding her hand. Martini drifted slowly off into sleep. 

The next day when she awoke, she found her hand still clamped in Blink's. He had fallen asleep in the chair and looked so peaceful. Martini continued to watch him sleep for a while.

"He's so cute!" she thought to herself. His short blond hair had become mused in the night and was showing early signs of bed head. Martini cautiously moved to get a better view of him. Blink woke up and realized that Martini was awake.

"Hey!" he whispered.

"Hey yourself!"

"How are you feeling?"

"Better than I did last night. What about you? You look pretty uncomfortable in that chair!"

"I'm fine."

They sat in silence for a moment. 

"Martini," started Blink.

"Blink," said Martini at the same time.

They looked at each other and laughed.

"You first," replied Blink.

"No, you!"

"Okay! Okay! I just wanted to say that I had a lot to think about last night with Queens and all…"

"Sorry to interrupt, but you just reminded me of something! Did anything happen with Queens yesterday after I feel asleep? I know Race was looking pretty anxious to go over there."

"Yeh, I know! You missed all the action! Jack, Race and bunch of others went over to Queens to settle this once and for all. Turns out Clef had no idea that this was all going on! He thanked Jack for telling him. When they left, it didn't look really nice for his newsies. He was yelling and screaming at them so loud, Jack could swear Spot heard it over in Brooklyn!"

"So everything's fine with Queens?"

"Yeh."

"Sorry. You were saying?"

"Right. Ummm…. I had a lot of time to think about stuff that's been going on in my life. My ex dumped me pretty bad a couple of…"

Martini cut him off. "You don't have to tell me about her. I already know."

"You do?"

"Yep."

Blink paused for a moment and then continued. "Like I was saying, it got me thinking about things and I realized that ever since we met, I can't stop thinking of you."

"Of me?"

"Yes you! I was so scared yesterday when Pitcher came over and told us the news. You're the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing when I go to sleep."

"I'm…just…Wow!"

"Would you think about being my girl? I mean…" he stumbled. "I would like it very much if you were my girl." He paused for a moment, thinking about what he had just said. "I mean…I'm not forcing you or ordering you or…"

"Blink."

"Yah?"

"Shut up!" She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. After they pulled apart, Blink had a huge smile and his face and said, "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Would you believe it if I told you exactly the same thing you said?"

"I'd believe it!" he said, pulling her close for another kiss. As they kissed, Martini thought about everything that had happened to her in the past few days. She came to the conclusion that she had done it! She had found the missing piece of her puzzle and couldn't wait for what tomorrow would bring. 


End file.
